


Can't Buy Me Love

by Holtzmann_lover



Series: Can't Buy Me Love [1]
Category: Yesterday (movie)
Genre: Eating Disorders, F/F, I don't know how to do these things, Please read, especially since i'm pretty sure this is the first work in the fandom, maybe i'm the only one in the fandom, oh no
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-06-26 02:31:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 21,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19758772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holtzmann_lover/pseuds/Holtzmann_lover
Summary: Everyone knew that Debra was the greedy agent who only cared about money. But when Avery Mercer comes along, she just might be able to get past the walls of the not so cuddly agent.





	1. I've Just Seen A Face

**Author's Note:**

> I'm complete trash. next time you throw something away, be sure to throw me away too.

“No dad, I haven’t sent out the email yet,” Debra Hammer sighed into and braced herself for a lecture from her seventy-year-old recently retired father. 

She heard a sigh come through the phone. She really didn’t need to hear this today. She had two clients who needed her in the studio to finish off two separate albums by tomorrow.

“You need to be doing something more real. You’re not successful enough no matter how much I help you,” Her father scolded her through the phone for what felt like the tenth time in two weeks. Her heart dropped when she heard the words leave his mouth. She just wanted his approval. Something she had longed for since her mother passed away.

“I am doing work. I could be doing work right now if you weren’t yelling at me,” She pointed out softly. 

She knew the conversation would probably be heading even further south so she gently shut the door to her office.

“Real work, Debra. Not some music type thing.”

Debra groaned, getting more upset by the minute, “If all you’re going to do is talk about how unsuccessful I am, don’t call me!”

She hung up the phone and sat down, putting her head in her hands.

“Are you okay?” A soft voice, from the doorway, said. It was open now. 

Debra looked from her hands to the door. Avery Mercer stood shyly, looking down. If it were anybody else she would have told them to fuck off, but this was Avery. Sweet Avery who wanted to make sure everything was okay at all times. Avery also had a voice on her though when she needed to stand up for herself and Debra was intrigued by that. Avery was even tinier than Debra. She had shoulder-length hair with dark blue tips and always wore black clothing and band attire. Debra instantly took notice of her and wanted to milk her for her money like everyone else but Avery wouldn’t let that happen. They were her songs.

“I’m fine. Did you finish in the booth?” She asked. Debra had stepped out to take the call.

“Yes, I wanted to let you know that I was leaving,” Avery nodded and Debra stood up.

“I need you here tomorrow morning by nine,” She informed her and grabbed her phone on the coffee table, clearly done with the conversation. She had other clients she needed to work with that day.

* * *

“I got you an extra gig in London for the tour,” Debra announced the next morning. A man handed her a cup of coffee which she accepted. “Sales are a bit higher since it was decided last minute, but you know how that is.”

No, Avery did not know how that went. This was her first tour and while Debra managed to explain most things to her, she kept explaining to a minimum.

“So is this your way of getting more money?” She asked and Debra took a seat on the couch next to her. It was in fact about her getting money. While she adored making a lot of money, she also wanted to prove to her father that being a music agent is a legit job that she could live off of. But she wasn’t going to tell Avery that.

“Listen. I’m your agent. You’re the star. We have to have to be able to trust each other if we want this to work. Do you trust me?”

Debra scared the shit out of her if she was being honest. Debra could make or break her in a matter of a day. And she used that to her advantage when getting money. One false move and who knows what Debra would do to her career. 

“Yes,” She gulped.

“Then it’s settled. You’ll be playing in London on the fifteenth and sixteenth then.” She stood up. “Let’s get started then. We certainly don’t have all day.”

* * *

Debra listened to the tiny singer as she sang her heart out. Debra will admit that she’s got a passion most people don’t have, but it was more than that. She felt herself liking Avery for herself as a human and not just what her voice could do.

She had promised herself years ago when she entered the industry that she wouldn’t get involved with the clients personally, even if it was just friendship. This was for money. As realization struck her, her facial features darkened and she made a cutting gesture to the sound person, telling him to stop.

“Is there a problem?” Avery asked from the booth.

Debra stood up, “We’re done for the day.”

“I still have an hour left. You said I should finish the song tod-”

Debra cut her off. “Get some rest, Avery. It’s a long road ahead of us.”

* * *

“So you like her?” Hilary asked her that afternoon while they were out for lunch. They had a complicated relationship and they used to be more than friends. However, they quickly found out that they were too much alike and it wouldn’t work out between them romantically. Debra liked Hilary’s attitude and work ethic though so she decided to continue to work with her.

“I guess. I don’t do relationships though. I’ll just have to finish the tour as her manager and then I can drop her. She’s nothing to me,” Debra confirmed her answer and shoved a bite of salad in her mouth. She had to keep her figure, of course.

Hilary leaned back in her seat, clearly amused. Debra hated how they were so much alike. She glared at the older lady and it only made her laugh.

“Well clearly she does matter to you because you like her,” Hilary pointed out and Debra grumbled, telling her to shut up. 

“I should have never told you!” She snapped.

“Listen to me. It’s good you told me because now I can offer you advice.”

Debra was still grumbling and calling her names but Hilary wasn’t listening.

“What we had was almost three years ago. How many people have you let into your life since then?” Hilary wondered and Debra had to think for a minute.

“I showed one of my cleaners a new purse I bought,” She nodded, confirming her answer.

“No. You know what, even I know that’s not good and in some ways, I’m worse than you are when it comes to people.” 

Debra stared down at her salad, which had been forgotten about for a minute. She didn’t need a relationship. She needed money. She needed it for herself and to prove to her father that she was succeeding in life.

“My advice is to roll with it. See where it goes. But ultimately it’s up to you,” Hilary said and passed her credit card to the waiter as he came back. Debra did the same. 

Was she really going to change her life just because she liked someone other than for her money?


	2. If I Fell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery and her best friend hang out.

Avery had just fallen asleep when she felt her phone buzz. Was it always going to be like this? Getting barely any sleep at all? She was always in the studio and it seemed like even when she wasn’t in the studio, she was still working. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and angrily pressed the green button.

“What, Debra?!” She snapped. Most people wouldn’t blame her for snapping though. Debra had made her work her ass off and she can’t remember the last time was when she got a full eight hours of sleep.

“Woah, Debra? Debra as in your manager?” Her best friend, Lily’s, voice came through the speaker.

Avery groaned at her mistake. She should have looked at the caller ID before picking it up.

“I’m sorry, Lily. I’ve been working so hard. I haven’t even been able to shower in the past few days,” She said, putting her hand to her head. “Debra’s making me stay in the studio twelve hours a day.”

“Okay ew. You better get in that shower because someone’s outside your door and I do not want to smell grime on you,” Lily answered and Avery imagined her wrinkling her nose up.

Avery was running to the door in a second and whipped the door open to reveal Lily standing excitedly outside. She was holding a bag of snacks and another bag full of movies. They were best friends since they were five and always would be but ever since Avery had been scouted, they barely had time to talk let alone hang out. Avery instantly pulled her into a hug. She didn’t realize how much she missed her best friend until then.

Lily also had dyed hair; lavender hair that reached the middle of her back. She was five foot and sported an amazing tan. Avery wouldn’t be surprised if they had been more than friends if Lily wasn’t just broken up with recently.

“Okay, yeah. I’m definitely sure now that the shower is calling your name,” Lily said but hugged her back.

Avery invited her in and they both ran to the living room like little kids. Lily dumped the snacks and movies on the floor. Avery took notice on how Lily went all out. For snacks, there were big bags of M&M’s, Hershey bars, Twix bars, Sour Patch Kids, Mike N Ikes, and Skittles. Lily did a wonderful job on the movies too, ranging from romantic comedies to horror movies. Love Actually, Titanic, Silver Linings Playbook, and Mean Girls were some along the romantic side while Jaws, Get Out, The Shining, and The Conjuring were all part of the scary movies.

However, Avery’s eyes went towards the Disney section.

“Let’s watch this,” She says and picks up Toy Story.

Lily laughs. “I should have known. You’re such a kid.”

“Hey, don’t knock the classics. Disney is always an option. Even when you’re twenty five like us.” Avery playfully pushed Lily and Lily responded by dramatically falling.

“Alright, alright. You’re right. Now go shower and I’ll get everything ready. I assume you have popcorn?” Lily asked and Avery nodded. Popcorn was always her favorite snack.

Avery quickly showered, wanting as much time with Lily as possible. She was needed back in the studio early the next day. She was still tired from the day she had that day, but thankfully the cold shower helped wake her up.

She washed her hair and body and scrambled into pajamas before quite literally sprinting back to be with Lily. She missed her best friend dearly. It sucked that they lived so close to each other but barely saw each other anymore. When she made it to the living room, she saw that Lily had laid blankets everywhere and had a bowl of popcorn and two glasses of wine next to each couch.

Needless to say, Avery didn’t get much sleep that night but she wouldn’t trade her best friend for anything.

* * *

Avery woke up in a panic when her phone started buzzing like crazy. She grabbed the device and her heart dropped when she saw the time was half past eleven. She had seven text messages all from Debra and ten missed calls from her as well.

_ Are you on your way? _

_ You better not be late. _

_ It would at least be nice to let your agent know when you’re going to be late. _

_ The things I’ve pulled for you, Avery. _

_ We don’t have time for this. _

_ Get in here right now before I change my mind about the tour. _

_ You know I refuse to give refunds out as well. _

Avery was too scared to call the woman back so she sent a quick apology and told her she was on her way.

She nudged Lily who was happily snoring, “Wake up! I’m late!”

Lily jolted awake and grumbled.

“You can stay as long as you want, but I have to go,” She said and began changing. She was thankful Lily didn’t care about what she saw. She didn’t have time to go to her room. Avery needed to be there as soon as possible.

* * *

Debra was standing outside the studio with her arms crossed as Avery pulled up. She didn’t even lock the door to her car. She immediately began to apologize as she reached Debra.

“Nope, you’ve got superstar rights. You can shit on your workers like dogs shit on our shoes.” Debra scanned her card around her neck to let them in the studio. They walked in silence to the booth and when they reached the booth, Avery tried again.

“I’m sorry. Really. My friend came over last n-”

“You’re already over two hours late.” Debra stated and yanked the door to the booth open for the singer. Avery looked down, ashamed. 

“Get. In. The. Booth,” Debra said with her teeth clenched together. “Get in the-”

Avery did as she was told and Debra shut the door behind her. Avery watched as the woman began to walk towards the control room.

She turned around, putting her hands in her pockets as she walked backwards, “Don’t let it happen again.”

* * *

Avery couldn’t get it right, no matter how many times she tried. She was frustrated at herself about not being able to do it and still felt a little guilty about what had happened that morning. She had a very specific pitch she had to reach and every time she tried, it went flat.

Debra watched through the glass as the younger woman groaned, having failed again. Her eyes narrowed in concentration while watching the shorter person and she was surprised when she felt her heart going out to the poor girl as tears filled her eyes.

Debra felt herself standing up and walked to the booth, opening the door. If anyone else had struggled this much to hit a certain note, she would have given up and told them to just not play the song. But with Avery it was different. Debra believed in her.

“I have a suggestion,” She said as she stepped in. The booth was small and could only hold one person. But Avery found herself not wanting her to leave.

Avery stepped away from the microphone squished herself into the corner. And when Debra put the headphones on and began to sing, Avery was shocked. Maybe shocked wasn’t a strong enough word. Astounded was the word. Her voice was different and angelic and Avery couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t in the recording booth herself, writing her own songs.

Her jaw nearly hit the floor as Debra sang out the note that she had been struggling with for the last ten minutes. It was unique and didn’t sound like how Avery was imagining it, but she liked this version better.

“Try it with me,” Debra said and Avery was hesitant to get close to her. What if she had bad breath? She hadn’t brushed her teeth that morning because she had been in a rush.

But Debra had been asking her to do something and she was wanting to hear her sing again so she did what she was asked. Avery stepped forward and the tension in the room raised. 

They sang the verse together and they were both surprised when they sounded decent together. Debra showed her how she had sung the song and had smiled when Avery was able to copy her.

Because the recording booth was small, they barely had any room to move at all. Maybe a step or two when they were in the right spot. So when their lips became inches apart from each other while singing into the microphone, they jumped back.

“Dude, did Debra almost kiss Avery?” A young guy asked from the recording booth.

“Don’t be stupid,” The other guy said, not even bothering to look up from his phone. “That bitch is a rock.”

Debra tugged the door open quickly, “Don’t make another foolish mistake like that again. I don’t have time to be managing around amateur singers. Do it again and I’ll drop the tour.”

Debra caught a glimpse of Avery with tears dripping down her face as she shut the door behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone want more?


	3. A Day in the Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra can't stop thinking about Avery.

You didn’t need to know Debra very well to know how much she loved money. Ask the two Buick’s in her driveway at her house in Malibu. Or you could dig deeper and ask the $500,000 sitting in her bank account on separate credit cards. Either way, it was very obvious.

Debra’s favorite hobby was shopping. She shopped when she was bored. She shopped when she was sad. And she shopped when she was stressed. Like right now. She sat on a white leather couch, scrolling through websites on her brand new Mac, finding clothes to purchase.

_ Should I buy this blazer in red or grey? _ She asked herself. The blazer was about two hundred and fifty dollars each. _ Fuck it, I’ll just buy both. _

But God was she stressed. She hadn’t ever felt this way about a girl before and even with Hilary a few years back, the feeling was different.

She had just realized she was gay and while her mother was accepting of her, her father sure wasn’t. She remembers his hurtful words and crying in her room that night. But he stuck around when her mother was hit by a drunk driver because he knew she was the only family left.

She pushed the thoughts aside. Avery made her feel giddy inside, like a little school girl. She wanted to spend all the time in the world with her. She wished that she didn’t have other clients she was working with so she could give Avery the one on one attention she deserved. However, this wasn’t the Debra she had grown up to be. The Debra she was used to was always cold, distant, and possessive over money.

Which is why she canceled Avery’s recording session today. She wasn’t about to let one person change her entire life. She wouldn’t let that happen.

However, she still was needed in the studio today. She had a client named Jeremy who was a total idiot in her opinion. But he was a good singer so if she worked her words, she could be making thousands of dollars off him.

She had another girl who was her client named Hailey.q While Hailey was really pretty, she was a junkie and spent most of her time high. She knew she probably be getting the girl into rehab, but she couldn’t help but use her a little as well. Besides, it was Los Angeles! Everyone smoked weed there. She was surprisingly a great singer and barely needed autotune to make it in the music industry.

Debra glanced at the time on the Mac and saw it was about time to go. She changed from a crop top and black leggings to an older blazer she had with matching pants. She quickly got in one of her cars and drove off to the studio. Normally, she would order an Uber to take her places but since she had two fancy cars sitting in her driveway, she figured she might as well show them off.

When Debra arrived, she saw Hailey at the back of the building with a blunt in her hand. She sighed and rolled her eyes before grabbing her card to let her in the building and getting out. She walked up to the girl who was very close to not being sober.

“What are we doing?” She asks, leaning against the wall along with Hailey. 

Hailey inhaled, “Smoking. Want one? I think I have an extra in my bag somewhere.”

“No, I don’t want one even though I know for a fact you have an extra,” Debra frowned. “Get your ass in the building. I’m not about to pay for renting the studio out to a druggie.”

Hailey started giggling uncontrollably and stumbled in the building after Debra unlocked it. They walked together and Debra couldn’t help but wonder how Hailey had made it this far in life. She was always high or drunk on something.

Hailey giggled into the microphone as Debra sat in the control room with her eyes closed. She was rubbing her temples, trying to clear a headache that was coming on. She started to realize how bad of an idea this was in the first place. She stood up and walked to the glass.

She knocked on it, “Hey, you pothead! You should be thankful I’m even giving you a chance. I love my money just as much as you love not being sober, so can you help a girl out?”

Hailey sighed and began singing into the microphone. Debra just hoped that it sounded good after it was recorded.

* * *

Avery, Avery, Avery. That’s all that she could think of that night after she left the studio. She decided after an hour that she was done with Hailey for the day and went to pick up food for herself before heading home to watch some Netflix.

Only she couldn’t watch Netflix because her mind kept drifting off to Avery. Avery was beautiful, sweet, and light. There wasn’t a bad bone in her body and when Debra tried to take her money from her, Avery would tell her to back off right away. And Debra loved a fighter.

She grabbed her phone that was laying in the bed with her and went to Avery’s contact page. She stared at it. No, what was she thinking? She couldn’t call her. She set the phone down.

And then she picked it back up again and went back to her contacts. She stared at it. Set the phone down. Picked it up. Went to the contact. Stared at it. Set the phone down.

And after repeating the process a couple more times, her thumb hovered over the call button and before she could stop it, her thumb pressed the button. She freaked out a little and before she could hang up the call, Avery’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hello?”

Debra paused, debating on whether or not she should just say it was an accident.

“Debra?” Her voice asked.

She gulped. Her breathing was heavy, “Avery… I had a question.”

“Okay,” Avery said and Debra imagined her nodding her head.

_ Just do it. _   
  


“Would...you wanna,” She started. The way she was talking was almost like she forgot how to speak. “Go on a...date with me?”

Avery sighed, “Debra, that’s so sweet. But I don’t like women.”


	4. Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery go on a date.

See, this is the exact reason why Debra didn’t do relationships. They were complicated and confusing and stressful. Just like this one. No, Avery didn’t confirm whether she was gay or not, but there were so many signs that lead to Debra thinking she was. Even in the recording booth, Debra saw Avery looking at her lips as they were close. She was about to just hang up when she heard a laugh coming through the phone.

“Debra, I’m kidding. I don’t know how you believed me though. I’m as gay as they come. I would love to go on a date with you.”

And as much as Debra hated being tricked, she couldn’t help but find the small prank cute. She grimaced at the thought of finding someone cute. She was still new at this and didn’t know how dating really worked if she was being honest. 

“Um great! So when are you free?” Debra asked, putting the phone back to her ear.

“Well, you’re my manager so you tell me,” Avery said sassily and Debra wondered if she had picked that up from her.

Debra thought for a minute before speaking, “Tomorrow night?”

“Okay, it’s a date.”

Before Debra said goodbye, she told her that she should wear something fancy and that she would pick her up at six. They exchanged goodbyes and this time, Debra didn’t ignore the butterflies that came to her.

* * *

Debra owned so many clothes she had two walk-in closets full of them. They were neatly organized and sorted into sections by their category. Crop tops, jeans, leggings, blazers, and suits were just some of the clothes she owned that were hanging in one closet.

Debra was picky about the clothes she put on her body. But that was an understatement for tonight. Her once clean closets were now trashed as she couldn’t find the right outfit. She wanted it to be perfect.

“UGHHHH!” She screamed at herself and threw some clothes in her hand to the pile of wrinkled clothes.

One of her cleaning ladies, Veronica, nearly ran into the room, “Are you okay, miss?”

“I’m fine,” She grumbled and started cleaning up the mess she had caused.

“Do you need help?” Veronica asked, slowly walking into the room not wanting to piss her off.

“I have no clothes to wear. I might as well go naked. I’m sure Avery would love that. But I don’t think the restaurant would.”

At times like this, Veronica always wanted to say something sarcastic. Debra definitely did have clothes. But she knew it would be best to keep her mouth shut so she didn’t risk losing her job.

Veronica snapped her fingers as she remembered something, “Hey! You still have those bags of clothes you bought the other day! I think they’re in your car. Would you like me to grab them?”

Relief washed over Debra and she nodded, “Yes, please.”

Veronica disappeared and Debra began hanging the clothes in her closet again. Veronica quickly returned with five bags and while Debra began going through those, she ordered Veronica to hang the rest up in the correct categories.

Debra very quickly found something she thought might work. It was a white pantsuit and she matched them with silver wedges. She tried it on quickly as she was running out of time and relaxed when she liked how it looked on her.

As she put her hair back in a bun at the back of her head, she got a text from her driver telling her that he was here. She told Mark, her driver, the plans last night and he quickly agreed to help. Mostly because Debra was paying him double and a little because he was intimidated.

* * *

Avery had been waiting patiently for her date to arrive. She had finished getting ready twenty minutes ago as she was nervous about not getting done in time. She wore a black dress that had one dolman sleeve as the other shoulder was bare. She topped it off with black heels and kept her hair down.

She heard a knock at the door and she found her heart beating faster as she knew the only visitor could be Debra. However, based on the conversation she had with Debra the previous day, she knew she was going to have to take the lead.

She grabbed her clutch and walked to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it up. Debra was looking down at the ground, nervously but when the door opened, she looked back up and smiled. Avery stepped out and closed the door behind her.

“Hey,” Debra casually said.

Avery couldn’t help but giggle, “Hey yourself.”

“Are you ready?” Debra asked, practically melting.  _ God, who was she becoming? _

Avery nodded and Debra held her hand out so she could hold onto it. Avery immediately noticed how soft Debra’s hands were as she was led to the car. Mark opened the car door for them and introduced himself but she was sad when they let go of their hands to get in the car.

“Is this your driver?” She asked politely but she already knew the answer. Of course, Debra had her own driver.

“Well yeah. I use him when I need to. Not always,” Debra explained and buckled up. Avery did the same.

“Where are we going?” Avery asked playing with her hands and Debra gently placed a hand on top of hers.

“I was thinking about going to  Gwen,”  Debra informed her and Avery nearly gasped. She had been to that restaurant before. It was pretty expensive and she never wanted to go by herself. Judging by how Debra casually stated it, she figured that she went there a lot.

“That sounds nice,” She breathed out and Debra smiled a little.

* * *

It didn’t take long to get to the restaurant and Avery was thankful they had a driver because according to Debra parking was always a bitch.

Mark held the door open for them and they walked in. Debra had already made reservations so they walked past the line of customers and to the host. And Debra shouted something in his ear so he could hear.

They were led to a small private room in the back of the building and Avery was overwhelmed with love. It was their first date and Debra was showing her a lot of love. Maybe she did know what she was doing. 

They both sat down and they were given menus to look at. A waiter soon came up to their table to greet them and take their drink orders.

“Do you drink wine?” Debra asked, pausing to look at Avery.

Avery nodded, “I do. I like all kinds of wine.”

Debra nodded back and ordered the most expensive wine on the menu. Avery felt guilty as she didn’t want to spend a bunch of money. She figured Debra was paying but she didn’t want to assume. The waiter walked away.

“So tell me about yourself,” Avery asked once the waiter was gone.

“I’m a music ag-”

Avery shook her head, “Try again. Tell me something I don’t know.”

Debra dug deeper in the back of her mind and Avery waited patiently.

“I paint.”

Avery nodded, interested. “What type of things do you paint?”

Debra picked at a hangnail. She couldn't really believe that she was on a date and telling Avery facts that she hadn’t really told people before. She admitted that she was good at painting, but she never really painted anymore.

“Emotional Paintings. But enough about me. What about you? What’s something you like to do besides singing?” Debra asked as the waiter brought back a bottle of wine and two glasses to pour it in. They told him they needed a bit more time to think about what they wanted.

“I used to play soccer for twelve years,” She said casually, looking at the menu. Now it was Debra’s turn to be surprised.

“Really?” She rested her head on her fist.

“Yeah, I got pretty sick at one point though and when I went back, it wasn’t the same. I took up singing cuz I realized I had a talent.” She shrugged and brushed the topic off. “What about you? Why aren’t you in the booth? You clearly have a voice.”

“Because I make more money with this job.”

Avery couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Debra had been completely serious with her answer but Avery’s laugh lit up a room so she wasn’t about to say anything. The waiter came back and they both ended up ordering a steak. They spent the evening laughing with each other and Avery was happy that she got to see this different side of Debra. She just hoped she could see more.

Mark picked them up at Debra’s request. The car ride back to Avery’s seemed so short compared to the car ride to the restaurant. Debra got out of the car to walk Avery to the door. She made sure to hold Avery’s hand on the short walk because of the smile Avery always had on her face when she did it before.

“I had a great night,” Avery said as they reached the door.

Debra gave her a grin, “I did too.”

Avery's eyes glanced down to Debra’s lips and she picked up on how Debra was doing the same. It seemed like the perfect time to do lean in and connect their lips. And so she did. She took Debra’s face in her hands and kissed her. She wasn’t disappointed at all when Debra wrapped her arms around her waist and kissed back just as passionately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the comments i've gotten so far!


	5. When I Get Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery have a talk.

As much fun as the date was, they both had to go back to work the next day. It was a Saturday and even though most people had Saturdays off, the duo was expected back in the studio.

The date had gone on a bit longer than they both had planned so when Avery woke up, she felt more tired than usual. She was just glad she didn’t sleep past her alarm again. She turned the alarm off on her phone and quickly texted Lily back who was demanding for Avery to spill the tea about the date.

Avery’s style was more punk rock and the color she always wore was black. She knew she was going to be in the studio all day and wanted to dress semi comfortably at least. She opted for a crop top with a skull on it and black jean shorts with ripped holes in them. Under the shorts, she had added a pair of fishnet leggings. Debra had told her she was needed by ten, so Avery decided to get on the road as it was already 9:30. She didn’t want to risk dealing with traffic and being late. Avery had a car because the thought of not owning a car in LA was miserable to her. The public transportation sucked.

She had a black Jeep that she loved dearly and took great care of. She climbed up in it and started the engine, putting the gear in reverse. She could have taken the doors off since it was hot out, but she didn’t want to risk anything getting stolen while she left it outside the studio.

Avery realized she was in luck as there was a bit less traffic that morning. Los Angeles was always busy, but she would take what she could get. She got to her destination with ten minutes to spare and was surprised when she saw Debra waiting outside for her. Usually, Debra was inside the studio already and Avery would need to call to let her in. She didn’t know if she wasn’t allowed to have her own key or if Debra didn’t trust her.

She scrambled from the Jeep, not wanting to keep Debra waiting long. Debra was an impatient person. Still, she didn’t know if Debra even knew she arrived because her eyes were glued to her phone as she typed away.

“Hey, love,” Debra greeted Avery as she walked up to her. She was still focused on her phone. Avery didn’t know how she even knew it was her. It was a talent in itself.

Avery smiled a little, “Hi.”

“I’m glad you came early. I wanted to talk about something real quick with you,” Debra explained, stuffing her phone in her back pocket.

“What’s up?” Avery asked and Debra began walking towards the door.

Debra sighed, “We should keep our relationship to ourselves. Well, whatever it is we have.” They hadn’t yet discussed what they were.

A hurt look flashed on Avery’s face and Debra must have noticed because she continued to talk.

“It’s not that I didn’t have fun. I did. But I’m your agent. And you’re my client. It’s not professional,” She told her and Avery couldn’t help but argue back.

“Debra, you’re the exact opposite of a professional agent.”

Debra scanned her card and quickly ushered Avery inside. Avery guessed it was so no one outside the studio happened to hear them as they walked by. They were the only ones at the studio since they still had ten minutes until ten.

“Debra what-”

“Look, I really like you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have even thought about going on a date with you. But this is my job and I’m not comfortable spreading this news across the whole world. It’s not going to be forever but at least for now.”

Avery still looked hurt, “Then why did we go on a date in the first place?”

Debra sighed and looked around. She wasn’t expecting Avery to be this hurt. She didn’t want to hurt the girl but she was so used to taking care of herself and worrying about how much money she had, she didn’t know how to comfort someone. She didn’t care about people before. And she still didn’t. But Avery was different.

“Look, I love money. I always have and I always will. Money is what comforts me. But...when I’m around you, I don’t think about money at all. And that’s a really scary thing to think about. I don’t know how to take care of someone else but for you, I’m willing to try. I just need time to figure this out. You’re getting pretty famous now, thanks to me, and I don’t want to lose you. But I also don’t want everyone and their mother to know about this relationship yet.”

Avery stood in shock. While there were some things in the statement that could be improved upon, she knew what Debra said was real. Debra had been studying Avery and she knew she should say something before Debra took it the wrong way.

“Okay, as long as it’s not forever, I can live with it,” She nodded.

“It won’t be,” Debra promised.

To make it a bit better, Debra pulled Avery in by her waist, giving her a kiss. Avery relaxed at the touch, kissing back. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal situation, but she could live with it for a while. 


	6. Till There Was You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery have lunch.

Avery had just finished up in the studio. She had been working all morning and after lunch, Debra expected her to be coming back. The days were getting longer and Avery knew she should be taking advantage of the fact that Debra hadn’t been asking her yet to arrive at five in the morning.

She took a sip of her water and screwed the cap back on before putting it in her purse. She was starving. She barely had time for any breakfast that morning and it felt like her stomach was trying to eat itself. She was living on one meal a day which was lunch. She knew she had to change her habits soon before the old ones came back.

“Hey,” Debra strolled in, “What are you doing? Are you going to eat?”

Debra rested her chin on Avery’s shoulder. It wasn’t the most romantic gesture ever, but Avery knew she was trying and if Debra was comfortable with this, then she was too.

“I am. Care to join me?” She asked, expecting Debra to say no. But instead, Debra surprised her.

“Okay, but I get to pick the place,” Debra agreed and Avery wasn’t surprised. She nodded and lifted her head up, walking out of the building. Avery only assumed she was supposed to follow.

* * *

“We can take my car,” Debra nodded towards the Buick. She wasn’t expecting Debra to say that. Debra’s cars were her babies and she never let anyone near them let alone inside. Avery felt special knowing that she was different from the others.

Avery’s suspicions were correct. The car was spotless and looked brand new. She wondered if they were, in fact, new or if she just cleaned it out a lot. Judging on the car smell, it couldn’t have been that old.

“I didn’t think you drove,” Avery started the conversation.

Debra scoffed, “I’m not an animal, Avery. Of course, I can drive.”

“What about our date?” She continued to ask, “I thought Mark was your driver.”

Debra nodded, starting up the car, “He is my driver.”

Avery decided it was probably best to not ask any more questions so she simply buckled up and looked out the window.

“Wanna listen to some music?” Debra asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

Avery looked at her, “The Beatles?”

Debra’s face twisted in confusion, “Who the fuck is The Beatles?”

“Okay, so not The Beatles…Um, who do you listen to?” Avery asked.

Debra pulled her smartphone out of her pocket when they came to a stoplight. She opened it with her face ID and went to her music. Every few seconds she would glance up at the stoplight. It made Avery feel uneasy but she took her mind off it by thinking about the music. 

“Um, Coldplay?” Debra asked. The light turned green.

“Yeah. That works,” Avery nodded and Debra pushed a couple of buttons before plugging in the Aux cord and Coldplay blasted through the speakers of the car. Avery was a huge Coldplay fan and was very glad when Debra had suggested it. She remembered a time when things were simpler and her parents surprised her with tickets for a Coldplay concert.

Since then, her grandma who lived in Germany had gotten sick and her parents moved countries to care for her. Avery missed them dearly but she knew they couldn’t baby her forever. Besides, they still kept in contact a lot and Facetimed. 

Ten minutes went by and Debra found a valet to park her car. They were at Openaire. Avery had heard of the place before but hadn’t tried it out. Los Angeles was full of different restaurants and while she wanted to try many, it seemed impossible to try them all. 

The wait was about a half-hour and Avery was a little worried about spending too much time there since she was needed back in the studio. But Debra was with her and didn’t seem worried about the situation, so she let the thought leave her mind. 

The half-hour passed quickly and they spent it by sitting and talking about the tour coming up. It was in three months and Avery was very excited and nervous. This was her first tour and while it wasn’t a world tour, it was still a very exciting opportunity. She also hoped that her opportunities would only get better from there.

Eventually, an employee led them to a table by a window. Avery was thankful that they were right by a window because, in her opinion, Debra looked amazing when the sun beamed on her. Debra didn’t notice her staring at her because she was too busy looking at the menu. 

Avery decided that she should look at the menu too before Debra looks up. So she looked at the cuisines and eventually chose one while Debra did the same. Debra ordered tea while Avery ordered water. 

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Avery looked at her to make sure she was the one being spoken to. Debra was looking right at her. She was more than shocked. She simply thought this would almost be just a game between the two of them. 

“Debra-“

Debra looked down, “ I still think we should keep this between the two of us for now. But before I met you, I had no idea how alone I was. I really want this to work out. I don’t know much but I’m willing to try for you.”

Avery studied Debra for a minute to see if she truly meant what she was saying. She didn’t notice anything unusual, so she figured she must have been honest. 

“Yeah, I would love to be,” Avery said and Debra gave her a genuine smile back. 

* * *

“Hello?” Debra answered her phone. She had gotten out of the studio just a few minutes ago and she was stressed. All she wanted was a shower and sleep. 

A cold tone greeted her back, “Debra. I assume you didn’t forget I was calling.”

“Of course not, Dad. It’s the highlight of my month.” When Debra first moved out at eighteen, they had arranged to talk at the beginning of every month. Debra wasn’t really happy with the arrangement. She just wished she could cut him out altogether. But she knew as well as he did that they only had each other. 

“What have you been up to?” He asked. 

Debra was multitasking as she spoke into the phone, “Just the usual.”

She went onto her banks' website and transferred money into separate accounts. She had accounts for shopping, food, housing, emergency, and savings. The money that came out of the accounts was quickly replaced with new money. She had to admit that was with Avery’s talent. 

Her dad’s voice came through the phone again, “There’s nothing different at all? We barely speak anymore.”

“What do you want me to say, Dad?” She sighed. 

“Tell me about your life.”

Well, if that’s what he wanted, then that’s what he would get. She knew it would turn ugly fast, but he was the one pushing for details. 

“I’ve been seeing someone.”

“What’s his name?” He asked. 

“Her, Dad. You know girls are the only gender I like. I told you that when I was fifteen,” She spoke softly. 

“Debra Hammer, I refuse to believe that. If you want to play games with your life, then fine. Leave me out of it though.” And before she could even reply, he had hung up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the comments i've gotten so far!


	7. Julia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery have a heart to heart talk about their pasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that this chapter has heavy mentions of homophobic actions and eating disorders that could possibly be very triggering for someone. I'd rather anyone who reads this be safe than the number of reads I get.

Avery was surprised when Debra had invited her to her house. She didn’t know what she was expecting to see, but she wasn’t surprised when all the belongings that Debra owned were super clean and expensive looking.

“Avery!” Debra greeted her. “You’re late. You’re almost never late.” However, Debra didn’t seem mad about it because she pulled the younger girl into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Avery said as they released each other. “There was an accident on the way over.”

Debra frowned. It was so fast that Avery almost missed it. 

“Come in, come in. Welcome!” Avery looked around. She instantly noticed the paintings that were hung around the place. Debra had been right when she said that she wasn’t a bad artist.

“Are these your paintings?” She gestured to them.

“They are. Just a little something I whipped up here and there,” She answers and walks toward the kitchen, “Want anything to drink?”

“Um, wine?” She questioned.

Debra pulled out two wine glasses and a new bottle of wine for them to share. She poured both glasses half full and brought the wine with her. She motioned for Avery to sit on the couch with her.

“I missed you at work,” Avery told her.

Debra looked surprised, “You did?”

“Yeah, I thought you were going to be there today,” Avery explained and sipped her wine. Debra did the same.

“Yeah, I just had to take care of some things.” Debra waved her off, hoping she wouldn’t ask any more questions. She hated to admit it, but it had hurt when her father hung up on her the night before. She used the day to take a much-needed break. Debra didn’t realize when she started to stare out into space. When Avery mentioned the car accident, it hit Debra close to home. It was something that she very rarely brought up.

“Debra?”

Debra snapped out of it, looking at a concerned Avery.

“Are you okay? You just stared at the TV that’s not even on for like two minutes,” she explained, not taking her eyes off the older lady.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. How did today go in the studio?” Debra responded and rested her hand on the back of her couch.

“It was great. I got a lot done. I think I’m almost finished with getting everything recorded. That’s what Ian said. It’s mostly just editing now.” Ian was a sound guy who had worked there for many years and was quite experienced with the studio life.

“Great! Then we can start working out tour sales and merchandise,” Debra said excitedly. Avery wasn’t sure if she was actually excited for the tour or if she was just excited about the money that would be rolling in.

“Yeah, I have a photoshoot next week with...Debra?” Debra had stared off again, only this time at the wall behind Avery. Avery became anxious at the sight. Debra was always on top of her game and today it seemed like the exact opposite.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Avery,” She said, looking back at the upset girl.

“What’s wrong?” Avery asked, “And don’t say nothing because clearly, something is.”

Debra took another sip of wine before curling in on herself. Was she really going to tell Avery her deepest secrets? She had never even thought about telling people her story but now she was about to spill everything.

“My mom was my best friend. She always supported me when I was a kid. She would help me with my homework and my school projects. She would cook dinner every night for me. We would do something just the two of us on Saturday. She was the greatest mom ever. She didn’t care when I came out as gay when I was fourteen. She even tried to find me a girlfriend,” Debra laughed before taking big gulps of her wine, finishing it. “She was hit by a drunk driver one night, a year later when I was fifteen.”

Debra had never mentioned her parents before so Avery had assumed they were out of the picture. But she didn’t expect a tragic ending for one of them.

Debra continued, “When you mentioned the car accident, it threw me off, I guess.”

Guilt settled inside Avery. She hadn’t meant to make Debra sad, but she also didn’t know. She wanted to make Debra feel better so she wrapped her arms around her, pulling her to her chest, “I’m sorry. Car accidents are always the worst.”

She was thankful when Debra didn’t move out of her arms. It was a sweet move and Avery wanted it to last forever.

“You misunderstood me. Her car wasn’t hit. She was hit.” Avery’s heart sank to the ground. She could only imagine a tiny Debra crying when she found out about her mother. No fifteen year old should have to deal with that. Avery kissed the top of Debra’s head to let her know everything was okay.

“My dad became really mean after she passed away. He was never fond of my sexuality but once she was gone, he made me start sleeping in a tent in the backyard. He started making me do more extra credit assignments and only let me eat three meals a day at a scheduled time. I was finally allowed back in the house a few weeks later because I threatened to call the police on him. Anyways, our relationship is still rough and he doesn’t support my career, but what can you do?”

Avery had been lucky when she came out. Her parents were nothing but supportive, claiming their daughter was still loved and nothing had changed. They both gave her a kiss on the head and a hug before going on with what they were doing. But she knew that not everyone was lucky like she was.

“I was bulimic for about four years,” Avery blurted out. She knew she didn’t have to tell Debra that but she wanted her to know that she wasn’t the only one who struggled. “I was always on the skinny side but I never felt comfortable in my own skin. I never liked how I looked.”

Debra began drawing little shapes on Avery’s thigh as she sat in between her legs on the couch. It hurt her knowing that someone she cared about went through so much. Debra didn’t care about many people at all, but Avery had been special.

“It started when I was twenty. I moved out of my parent’s house and they didn’t see me as much so they couldn’t tell. I’d begin purposefully throwing up my meals after I ate.”

Debra imagined Avery leaning over a toilet and jamming her fingers to the back of her throat to induce vomiting. The image wasn’t pleasant at all and she found her own wave of guilt washing over her as she remembered what she had said to Avery when they first met.

“I eventually passed out last year from malnutrition. I couldn’t keep anything down, even when I didn’t force myself to throw up. I was constantly vomiting. My best friend, Lily, was with me and called an ambulance. I weighed eighty-nine pounds and I had to get nutrition through a feeding tube because I would get sick no matter what. I was so close to dying and I needed help fast.”

Debra pushed herself up from the position she was in. Her face looked troubled, to say the least when she looked at Avery. She felt so guilty about what she had said six months prior. If the timeline had added up in her head right, Avery would have been six months in recovery when they met.

“I said that obesity was a challenge for you. I had no idea.” Debra looked anywhere but at Avery’s face. Avery responded by taking Debra’s face in her hands.

“Exactly. You didn’t know. It’s fine,” She nodded. “I’m healthy now and I could probably beat you in a pizza-eating contest.” 

Debra couldn’t help but laugh and Avery joined in. 

“Probably. You know I hate pizza.” Debra stiffly moved back in between Avery’s legs.

“I know you do and one of these days, I’m going to show you that pizza is the best thing on the planet,” Avery giggled and held Debra close. The rest of the afternoon was filled with laughter and play bickering and for once, Debra ended up enjoying herself.


	8. Money (That's What I Want)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra signs on a new client.

Hannah Morris grabbed her guitar sitting next to her at the table in the coffee shop. She was currently on vacation in Los Angeles. Normally she would only play at parks and by bus stops in Illinois because of her anxiety but since it was LA, she pushed her nerves aside.

She had seen others play their musical instruments in little cafes before too so she figured it wouldn't be a big deal if she played outside after she finished her coffee. She dropped the mug in the bin where empty dishes were supposed to go and chose a spot by the window outside.

She was a huge fan of Adele and it was almost all she played. Her favorites to play on the guitar were Set Fire to the Rain and Someone Like You so she started with those. Hannah set her guitar case down by her feet in case anyone was nice enough to leave a tip.

When Hannah played her guitar, she put her whole heart into it. Even when she was just at a bus stop playing for a little extra cash, she never held back. She believed that you played your best when you didn’t hold anything back. So that’s what she did. She played and played until her fingers were numb from strumming for so long.

Debra and Hilary walked on the same street as the coffee shop, intending to get coffee from the same coffee shop. However, they stopped their stroll however when they saw the girl playing guitar. And Debra had to be her agent! She had no choice! This girl was talented and if she didn’t pick her up, someone else surely would. Hilary read her mind and went inside to wait.

She waited until Hannah had finished the song before stepping up next to her giving her a grin, “What’s your name?”

“Hannah Morris.” Hannah stuck her hand out for Debra to shake.

Debra looked at her hand for a second before shaking it. “Debra Hammer. Local music agent. Have you ever thought about doing music professionally?”

“I mean I just normally play at parks and stuff in Illinois,” Hannah responded quickly.

“You should consider it,” Debra said, studying Hannah’s movements as she packed her guitar up.

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m only on vacation.”

“Okay, let me help you fill in the blanks,” Debra looked her in the eyes, “You’re at the bottom now and if you don’t accept the offer, it’s only gonna go downhill from here. I’m the best you’ve got.”

Hannah stared at her. Who was this woman and why was she so determined to help her out? She wasn’t really looking for an agent to scout her, she just wanted to expand her comfort zone and be able to play in other places.

“Okay,” She said, biting her lip nervously.

Debra pulled a business card out of her pocket. She always carried them around with her in case she found someone like Hannah.

“Great! So when you wanna stop playing at coffee shops, give me a call.” She held the card out for Hannah and she plucked it from her. Debra gave her a smile after and walked into the coffee shop, the conversation already dropped.

* * *

“I’m so glad you called,” Debra told Hannah as she stepped in the studio. Hannah had called her the day before but she also told Debra that she wasn’t saying yes or no yet. She just wanted to check it out and see what it was all about first.

“This is where the magic happens!” Debra pulled the door to the booth open and ushered her inside. “Sing a song, give it a whirl, cook us up a little something.”

Hannah nodded and Debra held her finger up as she went into the control room. There was another guy in there and she didn’t know who he was but she wondered if he knew she was even there because his eyes never left his phone.

“Do you have any original music?” Debra asked once Hannah put the headphones on.

Hannah looked up at her, “No.”

Debra sighed but she had to do something. This girl was too good to pass up. Debra had been in contact with a few music writers so she could definitely set her up with someone. Debra prompted Hannah to sing.

Hannah sang 7 Rings and Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande to prove that she could sing more than just a few songs. Debra realized that she had been right all along to talk to Hannah before getting coffee.

“What would you think about being a recording artist?” Debra asked in the control room after Hannah had finished singing.

“I think that would be pretty cool,” Hannah casually said, like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Debra smiled and walked out of the room, motioning Hannah to follow her. 

“We can get the process started today if you would like. I just need you to sign a few things.” Debra walked into a small office that was in the studio. She didn’t own it and paid to have her clients use the booth but she was in the middle of having her own studio built. She was surprised she hadn’t thought about that before.

Debra grabbed a stack of papers and briefly explained each one to the singer. When Hannah agreed with what the paper said, she signed her name on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper and Debra took it back, placing it in a folder. 

“So this one just says that you won’t sue me if I, uh, fuck up your career,” Debra chuckled and waved her hand like it wasn’t a big deal, “Don’t think about it too much. Every music agent would make you sign something like this.”

Hannah didn’t know if that was true or not but nodded slowly and scribbled her name at the bottom. She was in shock that this was actually happening. No one in Illinois gave her a second of their attention. It was exciting but scary at the same time.

“So um, how busy will I be once we get started? Cuz I’ve never done this before and it’s really overwhelming. I have a family back home and it would be nice to see them someti-”

Debra looked at her watch, “Could you hurry it up with the life story? I have an appointment at four.”

Hannah shook her head, “What happens next?”

“I’ll set you up with someone who writes music, you create songs and make money when you sing them and then I get rich.” Debra began packing up her bag, ready to go home, “I’ll call you next week.”

“Okay.”

Debra gave her a smile and walked out the door. She grinned to herself. She was about to make a whole lot of money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um this was just a filler chapter to explain that Debra is still very greedy when she's not with Avery.


	9. With A Little Help From My Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery hang out with their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle your seatbelts.

“So have you guys done the deed yet?” Lily asked casually, popping some popcorn in her mouth. Avery had dedicated the day to writing new songs but Lily had insisted on coming over. She wasn’t mad that Lily had wanted to come over but she knew Debra wouldn’t be happy if she wasn’t writing.

“No! We haven’t. And you’re supposed to be helping me. I didn’t let you come over so you can ask personal questions!” Avery scolded. Lily shrugged.

Normally when Avery wrote her songs, she liked to keep it simple. She wrote in a quiet place in her house. This was the opposite of quiet. She just hoped Debra wasn’t too mad when she showed up for work later with two words written on a piece of paper. Lily scooted over to look at the piece of paper on Avery’s lap.

“You’ve been slacking,” She said once she saw the lack of words. Avery hit her on the shoulder, which only caused Lily to laugh. Avery joined in too because Lily’s laugh was contagious.

“What time do you have to be in the studio today?” Lily asked.

“In an hour and a half. I’m just gonna take an Uber.” Avery set down her paper and pencil, giving up. She would have to write another time.

“So how’s it going? For real?” Lily asked, getting serious.

Avery thought about the question. While it was going good, she had worries in the back of her mind. While Debra was great at her job and got things done, she lacked in some parts of the social skill. She was distant, cold, and said things the way they were even if it was rude. Avery also knew that if Debra didn’t like something, she would put a stop to it right away which gave Avery anxiety about being broken up with without any warning.

“Good, it just gets hard when she’s my agent and my girlfriend,” Avery shrugged but she didn’t want to talk about it. “You’re not even supposed to know about this.”

* * *

“You’re not even supposed to know about this. I told Avery we should keep it to ourselves. Keep your mouth zipped,” Debra told Hilary as they were shopping.

Hilary picked up some pants, studying them before hanging them on her arm. Debra had to be back in the studio to do some finishing touches on Avery’s album but Hilary wanted to go shopping. Besides who was she if she was going to pass up shopping? She wouldn’t admit it, but she went more for the shopping than to hang out with Hilary.

  
“So what else is new?” Hilary asked, half listening.

“I signed a new client. She’s okay, I guess. Super family-oriented, doesn’t have any original songs, anti-social. All I know is that if she wants to become a recording artist with fans, then she needs to forget about it,” Debra told her, doing her own thing with her own clothes she picked out.

Debra had dealt with mental illnesses herself after her mother had passed away. Once she became a music agent and got her first client, she stuffed all imperfections away. She didn’t have time to deal with worrying and sadness if she wanted to make money. And everybody knew that Debra wanted to make as much money as she could.

“Debra, you know as well as I do that you’ve been in her shoes before,” Hilary pointed out.

Debra shot her a look.

“Anyways, I don’t know how you do it.” Hilary began walking over to the dressing rooms to try a few of her clothes on.

Debra followed her, “Do what?”

Hilary closed the door to one of the rooms and Debra could hear her moving around in the small room. She wasn’t one to try clothes on herself. If she didn’t like how it looked on her, she would return it. She was out shopping more often than not when she wasn’t in the studio.

“Not care about your clients.” Hilary stepped out to look in the full-length mirror, “I don’t care either, but I’m at least civil to them.”

“And I’m not? We take care of the things that bring us money, but we don’t care about them,” Debra reminded Hilary. And then she walked away from her friend without a second thought.

* * *

“Lily, I have to go.” Avery gathered her stuff up to bring to the studio. Lily stood up from where she was sprawled out on Avery’s floor.

“Okay, leave your best friend. No big deal. I’ll just wither away right here,” drawled out Lily.

Avery rolled her eyes, “Lily, you knew I had to go. Besides, I’ll be back before you wither away. No one’s withering away on my watch.”

Lily giggled at Avery’s words. While Lily was dramatic when she was sad, Avery held the power to change her attitude. Sometimes she was the only one who was able to do that and it made her feel special. 

They gave each other a hug and Lily went to watch some TV. Even though Avery wasn’t always at her house, Lily was always allowed in her house and she was always allowed at Lily’s. The special bond they formed back when they were kids would never change. 

Avery shut the door behind her and climbed in the SUV that was her Uber. Her driver for the ride, Todd, was nice enough and even played music which she enjoyed. 

Avery had to be in the studio in a half hour. Judging by the traffic, the ride would be a breeze. She hoped she would make it to the studio with a few minutes left to spare so she could write a bit more. Debra was expecting more and more from her as the days went on. 

“Shit,” Todd said as his phone dropped from the phone holder on his dashboard as they took a sharp turn. there wasn’t much traffic at all so he reached down in the passenger seat to grab his device. 

All it took was a split second without his attention on the road to cause trouble. The light turned red and the car sped into the intersection. 

The noise of a horn filled Avery’s ears and before she could comprehend what was happening, the car was flipping over. 


	10. Let It Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Debra's past.

Fifteen-year-old Debra Hammer didn’t cry when her mother died. Her father, Rob, was kind about it and soothing but it didn’t last long. She stared at the jewelry box her mother gave her when she was eight while sitting on her bed. For two hours she didn’t react. Of course, nobody ever expects something like that to happen.

And then she began to destroy things. Mostly her room but also the stuff she had in her living room. It had all happened so fast and within twenty minutes, half of her house looked unrecognizable. The next day, she went out and used her savings to buy brand new things for their house. And not just the things she destroyed. She bought everything new so it was like her mother had never been there. It wasn’t their house anymore. Debra soon began to find happiness in buying stuff. She loved the sensation of swiping a card or choosing a design to match other belongings. But what she loved the most was knowing that she had more than others, even when she didn’t have her mom anymore. Physical things made her happy and she wanted everything she could get her hands on.

Twenty years later, Debra sat in a hospital chair in the same exact position when she found out her mom died. Her leg was crossed over the other and she held her chin in her hands, staring at the wall in front of her.

She had no idea what Avery’s conditions were. The hospital hadn’t called her. Supposedly Avery’s best friend, Lily, was Avery’s emergency contact and the hospital had called her. Debra had no idea how Lily got her number, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

It scared her that she was worried about Avery. However, it reminded her so much of her mother’s death that she couldn’t push it away. If it were anyone else, the story would have been different. But this was Avery who she had real feelings for and she knew she couldn’t dismiss that.

* * *

“Has your report card come in the mail yet?” Rob asked Debra as they were eating dinner.

Debra finished her bite of spaghetti, “No.”

Rob gave her a look, “How come?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you call the school?” Debra asked. How was she supposed to know when her grades would be in? This was unfair.

“I’m not calling the damn school,” Rob’s voice rose, “You can ask them tomorrow. All I know is they better be good or you can say goodbye to any free time you have.”

Debra’s grades came in a week later. To anyone else, they would have been passable. But not to Rob Hammer who tore the sheet of paper up when he looked at all the A’s and B’s his daughter had made.

“These are unacceptable. You need to work harder. No more TV until your grades are all A’s and you can only be outside for an hour. Other times, you study,” Rob said, throwing the shredded papers in the trash.

* * *

Debra laid in the tent in her backyard. Her back and neck were sore from the continuous nights of sleeping on the ground. She had a thin blanket that she used to cover herself up in. But it was October and the temperature fell as it got later. Debra was just thankful that there weren’t many bugs. She thought at first the strictness of her father was caused by grief but this was something else. 

Rob set the tent up on an uneven part of the ground. Debra thought that maybe he didn’t realize where he was setting up the tent. She could have dragged it over to a spot that didn’t have bumps on the ground, but she was too exhausted to even do that. Debra considered herself to be lucky if she got three hours of sleep. It was the first time she allowed herself to cry for her mother. However, in some ways, it felt like she had lost both her parents.

She slept on the cold hard ground for two weeks before she got the courage to stand up to Rob. Debra knew the neighbors were getting suspicious. One lady even came over to ask why Debra went out in the tent every night. She wanted to tell the truth to the woman but Rob brushed it off and told their neighbor that Debra was going through a camping phase. The clueless woman believed the lie and went back inside her house.

Rob was startled when his daughter marched in the house one night after the sun went down and demanded that she was allowed to sleep in her own bed.

He agreed but he also had taken away most of her things. Her room was bare but Debra was just glad she could sleep in her bed again. When she moved out, she bought everything she wanted and more.


	11. Real Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra at the hospital.

“Are you Debra?”

Debra looked up to see a young woman standing next to her. The girl looked to be about the same height as Avery but a little skinnier, which surprised Debra because Avery was definitely on the skinny side. She instantly recognized her as Lily because of the purple hair that fell to her waist. Debra remembered that Avery’s lock screen was a picture of the two of them on the beach. 

“Yeah, I’m Debra,” She confirmed and went back to looking at the wall. Lily must have not gotten the hint, because she plopped down in the seat next to Debra. 

“She’s gonna be fine,” Lily said, studying Debra. “She’s in surgery because she broke her leg, but she’s fine.”

Debra was felt relieved when she heard the news that Avery would be fine but she still didn’t want to socialize. However, she did feel like she should mention something.

“You better not tell anyone about Avery and me,” She looked strictly at the girl standing beside her.

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

While Lily had habits that she dealt with while she was nervous, Debra stayed in one place, letting her mind wander. What about the tour? Would she still be able to go? It was her tour after all. Debra knew she would most likely have to give out refunds if that was the case and she didn’t want to do that. It was a pain in the ass. 

  
  


* * *

They waited an hour before a doctor came and greeted them. About at the thirty-minute mark, Debra had stood up and was about to harass the nurses but Lily grabbed her arm and told her that the receptionists most likely didn’t know any more than they did. It would be of no use. Lily had also realized that Debra didn’t know much about other careers. She thought she could tell others what to do even when they weren’t in the same fields at all. Eventually, a doctor came out and found them, sitting in the chair next to Lily. He introduced himself as Dr. Emmett Spencer.

“Avery did well in surgery,” He began, “She passed out from the pain of the accident and she’s under a small dose of anesthesia now, but she should be waking up anytime now. She has a short leg cast on now but in about seven weeks, her leg will be healed. She’ll be able to go home in a couple of hours.”

They were both relieved that Avery would be okay. Lily immediately thanked the doctor but Debra just stared at him. She was still getting over the initial shock of the events.

“Yeah, quick question. She’s a singer and she has a tour coming up in about a month, is that still okay to do or…? I’m her agent.”

Much to Debra’s dismay, the doctor shook his head, “Avery needs to rest these next couple of months.”

How was this happening? The day had started off good with shopping but immediately fell when she found out that her girlfriend was in a car accident that involved the car flipping over. And now she just found out that her number one client at the moment couldn’t tour? The amount of money she was about to lose angered her.

“One last thing, before I take you to her. She’s about a hundred and fifteen pounds. While it’s not worth worrying about quite yet, I want her to gain at least ten pounds. If she loses anymore, it will become an issue.”

Debra frowned hearing this news and pushed the tour aside. She knew that Avery had been extremely underweight before they met but Avery said herself that she was better. Had she been lying? Or had Avery not even known herself that she was losing weight? Either way, she didn’t like that news and she could tell by Lily’s face, she hadn’t either. Dr. Spencer led them through two sets of double doors and around some corners before stopping in front of a room and opening up the door after knocking twice.

“Avery,” The doctor greeted her, “You have visitors.”

Avery looked groggily at the two of them. She was wearing a hospital gown and she was covered up in blankets. She was relaxing against a couple of pillows and she looked exhausted. Avery was also hooked up to an IV and Debra assumed that it was giving her fluids.

“Hey guys,” She grinned. Lily rushed forward and jumped on Avery’s bed, cuddling up to her. Debra felt awkward standing alone. 

“How are you feeling?” Debra asked, sitting in a chair.

“Loopy,” Avery grinned and Lily laughed beside her.

“I'm gonna go get a snack, does anyone want anything? No? Okay.” Debra stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Avery and Lily to converse by themselves.

While Debra was confident in other social situations, she sucked at it when she felt awkward or alone. This would at least give her some time to figure out what she was thinking about the whole situation. She was worried about Avery but the tour had taken so long to plan and she already had been getting money from ticket sales. She slipped a few dollars into the vending machine and pressed the number to get a granola bar. She grabbed it from the bottom of the machine and unwrapped it, going back to Avery’s room.

“Avery, you have to tell me if this is happening again,” Lily’s voice sounded from the room. Debra stopped in her tracks to listen. She definitely wasn’t new to eavesdropping.

“I’m not, I swear I’ve been eating and keeping stuff down. You can ask Debra,” Avery argued back. Debra had to think for a minute. She had seen Avery eat on dates before but even then, she always ordered small.

“Maybe I will, but for now, I want to hear from you,” Lily said sternly.

“You have no room to talk! You were anorexic on and off for almost eight years,” Avery fired back.

Debra decided she had heard enough and entered the room quickly before anyone said anything else. The girls quickly shut up as the door opened. Debra sat down in the chair again after throwing her wrapper in the small trash can. 

“Let’s talk business,” She said, stretching her feet up on the hospital bed Avery was in, “The tours canceled. It would be bad for both of us if I let you tour with a broken leg.”

“What are we going to do?” Avery frowned.

Debra cracked her knuckles as she talked, “How are you going to make money for me?”

“I could make a lemonade stand,” Avery shrugged.

“Avery! Seriously!” Debra snapped her fingers. She was exhausted from the day but she needed a new plan on how Avery’s career would go until her leg had healed. “You could do sponsorships with brands on Instagram or something. I don’t know but you can’t just not be working for the next two months. I’d even let you start writing for a second album. Sales are through the roof.”

Avery knew Debra was right. She couldn’t just lay at home waiting for her leg to heal. She still needed to work. Avery took a few minutes to herself to think while Debra was on her phone sending out emails. Debra was upset, to say the least, but she knew she had to fix the situation. It was her job after all.

“I guess that could work. The Instagram thing,” Avery said after a minute.

Debra looked up from her phone, “Great. We’ll do that.”

“But Avery, you don’t have Instagram,” Lily pointed out.

Debra looked back at Avery. “You don’t?” 

Avery shook her head.

“Lily, make her an Instagram account,” Debra directed. She pulled her feet from the bed and sat up straight before getting up to sit on Avery’s bed. She was still getting used to the whole girlfriend thing, but she knew with a little effort she could do it. She grabbed Avery’s hand gently while Lily was typing away on Avery’s phone. For the first time in the hospital visit, Avery noticed the worry on Debra’s face.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Debra asked. She used a different tone of voice. One saved for only Avery.

Avery smiled, “I’m okay. Just tired.”

Debra kissed Avery’s knuckles, “Get some sleep.”

And with that, Avery drifted off to sleep.


	12. I Got A Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra takes care of Avery.

Debra rolled Avery in her wheelchair into her house. Lily ended up getting called into work and had asked Debra to take care of Avery for the day. Avery was discharged from the hospital the day before and slept for the rest of the day. Today, however, she was back to her normal self. Debra stopped in front of the couch.

“Your Uber ride is over,” Debra announced. Avery tried to get up on her own with one leg and had realized it was a harder task than it looked like. She quickly fell awkwardly back into the chair.

“Baby! I’m supposed to be taking care of you!” Debra gasped. “Let’s try this again.”

Debra let Avery grab onto her to support herself. Since Avery was in a cast and not a boot, it made the task at hand even harder. Avery had crutches that could help but it quickly became too much for her to handle as she wasn’t in the best shape physically. It was easier to use a wheelchair. By the time she was able to get herself up, she was out of breath. Debra helped her sit down comfortably.

“Do you need anything to drink? Lemonade, water, wine?” Debra listed off

“I’ll just have water,” Avery told her and Debra gave her a grin before walking off into the kitchen. When she was gone, Avery got an opportunity to really look at the house. 

The couches were white and leather and she melted into one as she sat down. There was a flat-screen TV mounted to the wall that was at least eighty inches in size. There were paintings on the wall and judging on the past conversations between the two, Avery guessed that was Debra’s work. There was a beautiful chandelier that hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. All of it was more than Avery could afford.

“You should see my other house,” Debra commented, walking into the room with a glass of ice water in both of her hands.

Avery looked at her, “How many houses do you have exactly?”

“Including the ones that aren’t in the US?” Debra set one of the glasses by Avery. Avery didn’t know if she was kidding or not, but she figured she probably wasn’t.

“Yes...?” Answered Avery.

“Six,” Debra informed her and sat next to her.

“That’s...a lot of houses,” Avery said, taking a sip of the water.

Debra ignored the comment. Usually, when she told people about her luxury houses, they glared at her. With time, she learned to ignore them and became proud of the assets she had. She loved to quietly brag about how much she owned. While she was more than willing to invite people into her home, she didn’t talk about what she owned. They could figure it out for themselves by just looking. Debra and Avery sat in silence for a minute, unsure of what to do or talk about. Debra looked around her house some while Avery watched the ice cubes in her glass float.

“Wanna watch some TV?” Debra asked.

Avery nodded and Debra picked up a remote from the glass coffee table in front of them. She went to the guide and scrolled through the channels to see what was playing. There was a basketball game on one channel. Neither of them liked sports that much. There was some movie about these girls busting ghosts. That seemed lame. There was a sitcom on another channel that was too confusing to understand.

“Oh!” Debra exclaimed, looking at the TV. “What about The Price Is Right?”

Of course, Debra would choose a show about money. Avery had only seen the show a few times but knew what it was about so she agreed. Debra clicked on the channel and set the remote down. Avery shouldn’t have been surprised when Debra correctly guessed the price of many items correctly. She thought it was cute how Debra got so into the TV show and had guessed that this definitely wasn’t the first time she’d watched the show. Avery found herself paying more attention to Debra than the actual TV show.

“You’re good at this,” Avery commented.

“My mom and I used to watch it all the time,” Debra explained, not taking her eyes off the TV. Avery froze. She wasn’t sure what she would do if Debra got sad. However, Debra showed no indications of being sad as she continued to watch the show. They watched a couple more episodes before Debra realized that Avery had fallen asleep. She muted the TV and grabbed a blanket from her room and draped it across the smaller woman. She allowed herself to study her girlfriend.

Avery’s hair had recently been dyed again as it was jet black and the blue at the bottom was super bright. Debra had always loved the structure of Avery’s face. Her blue eyes, which of course she couldn’t see at the moment, her cute little nose, and her lips. They were her favorite part. And not just because she could kiss them. They were pouty and a light pink color. While Debra was confident with the way she looked, she would trade looks with Avery instantly. She thought Avery was gorgeous.

Debra sighed and stood up, going to turn the light off. She had a remote to turn the light off and on but she couldn’t find it at the moment. As the light flickered off, Avery let out a little moan, waking up. Debra froze, realizing her mistake.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” She whispered, watching as Avery curled more into the couch, cuddling into the blanket.

“It’s fine. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Debra sat back on the couch, “Do you need anything?”

“You.”

“Me?” Debra looked at her, not quite understanding the request.

“Hold me?” Avery whispered, on the edge of falling asleep again. The pain medicine made her sleepy. Nobody had ever asked for Debra to cuddle before but she was going to do her best to be a good girlfriend.

Debra nodded, “Okay.”

Debra laid on the inside of the couch and wrapped her arms around Avery, pulling the blanket over them. She never knew how nice having a girlfriend was until now.


	13. Thank You Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery go to a diner after physical therapy.

It had been two months since Avery’s accident. Most of the time Lily was around to help out since Debra was busy a lot with other clients. But there were some days where Lily was busy herself and Debra stepped up to help. Avery’s cast had been taken off recently and was replaced with a boot that she would wear when she wasn’t in therapy. She had gone to two sessions so far and she really liked her therapist. However, it could be exhausting, especially since she had to practice doing simple things with her leg that she had done every day before the accident.

Debra and Avery’s relationship had gotten stronger too. They had recently slept together for the first time and they knew that it would happen again soon. It was hard to roll around on the bed with her cast on, but Avery made do and Debra helped. If Avery thought Debra was beautiful before, then she was gorgeous without any clothes on. She had curves in all the right spots and Avery couldn’t help but run her hands along every inch of her body. 

Debra was picking Avery up from therapy that day and they decided to go out for an early dinner since it ended at five in the evening. She wanted to show Avery a new diner that she had recently been to. Debra wasn’t much for diners since the food wasn’t always on the healthiest side and greasy a lot of times, but Hilary showed her the spot a couple weeks back and she had actually liked it. Avery walked to the Buick, climbing in. She was so glad she didn’t need the wheelchair anymore. It only held her back.

“Hey, love,” Debra greeted and they exchanged a quick kiss before Debra put the car in drive.

“Hi,” Avery said, buckling her seatbelt. She always made sure to wear it ever since she learned that she would have been thrown from the SUV if she hadn’t been during her accident. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the window.

Debra glanced at her, “You okay?”

“Tired,” Avery mumbled.

“I can just drop you off at home if you don’t want to do anything,” Debra offered.

Avery shook her head, “It’s fine.”

So they drove to the restaurant and Avery was thankful when they were seated right away. They both ordered tea and the waitress rushed off to grab their requested drinks. Avery fiddled with a napkin and Debra watched her. It was a habit of Avery’s that Debra had picked up on. Avery only did it when she was anxious. A few minutes had passed with them being silent and finally Debra couldn’t couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Debra asked her, giving Avery her full attention.

Avery looked up, “I’m fine. Really. It’s just been hard at therapy and it’s frustrating when it hurts to do simple things.”

The waitress came back with their tea and Debra waited to reply until after the waitress left.

“It’s not forever, I promise,” Debra started. “It may feel uncomfortable now, but the doctors and physical therapists know what they’re doing.”

Avery looked down again and took some deep breaths, trying to collect herself. Debra honestly didn’t know what to do because she had never seen Avery so insecure before. Even when they had their heart to heart on Debra’s couch, Avery never seemed upset. And the same thing went for Debra. Even though Debra had been distracted a couple of times when she was reminded of traumatic events in her life, she had never completely broken down and she was always quick to bounce back. Avery guessed that no one had ever seen Debra be anything but confident before. 

“I’m afraid that you won’t want to be my manager anymore because I’m not going on tour and not making you money,” Avery admitted, now playing with her straw wrapper.

Debra reached across the table and gently took Avery’s hands in hers, rubbing them with her thumbs. Avery continued to look at the table and Debra’s heart broke at the sight of her lover looking like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“Don’t worry about money for the next two minutes. I just want you to be happy and healthy. If it were anybody else, I would be extremely annoyed and pissed off but with you, I can’t be because you mean so much to me. Besides, you just came out with merchandise that’s already selling out. And Hailey just released her first album. Everything is okay.”

Avery looked up and cracked a smile, “I can’t believe you of all people, Debra Hammer, told me not to worry about money.”

Debra gasped, “Who have I become?!”

“I don’t know, are you even my girlfriend?” Avery giggled.

Debra placed a finger on her lips, “Shhhh, I have a reputation to uphold.”

Suddenly their waitress, who was also serving another table, tripped over her shoe laces and fell to the ground. Plates and glasses from her tray clattered to the ground. It was very embarrassing and Avery felt bad but both her and Debra burst out laughing at the sight, trying to hide their faces. Debra didn’t know if the waitress knew they were laughing or not because the poor girl ran into the kitchen, her face beet red.

What neither of them noticed though was the shutter sound of a camera from the booth across from them taking their picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you actualy read this please


	14. Summer Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra and Avery go the park.

Avery awoke in Debra’s bed to little kisses being littered across her upper body. She was naked with only a light sheet covering her bottom half. She opened her eyes and saw Debra laying beside her kissing down her face, jaw, and neck. Their hair was both messy and they were still sweaty from last night’s events but they both thought each other looked beautiful.

“What a sight to wake up to,” Avery mumbled, smiling and closing her eyes. She rested her head on Debra’s naked chest.

Debra laughed, “I could say the same thing.”

Avery responded by rolling on top of Debra, kissing her. “You know what we should do today?” She asked in between kisses.

“Have more sex?” Debra guessed.

“I was gonna say that we should try that new ice cream truck in the park,” Avery told her.

“I hate you,” Debra mumbled.

“Not after this you won’t.” Avery kissed her again.

  
  


* * *

Their breathing was heavy as they came down from the high. Avery stroked lovingly at her girlfriend’s breasts while Debra regained her breathing. They were able to satisfy each other’s needs in a half hour and while Debra wanted to take a nap, Avery had other plans.

“Still hate me?” She questioned.

Debra shook her head, “No.”

Avery smiled, “Now we can go get ice cream!”

Debra couldn’t help but smile at her excited girlfriend.

They walked to the park as it was only about a ten minute walk. Avery was delighted when she saw the line at the truck wasn’t long at all. Avery got strawberry and Debra got chocolate. Not many people knew that Debra had a sweet tooth for chocolate. They sat on a bench, watching people walk by. Some people were walking dogs as well which only got Avery more excited.

“I’ve always wanted a dog but my mom’s allergic,” Avery explained after saying goodbye to a dog she was allowed to pet. They had finished their ice cream and threw the cups away in a nearby trash can.

Debra looked at her, “So why not get one now?”

“My schedule doesn’t really allow for one. Especially if I go on tour in the future,” She shrugged.

“I’m not a huge animal lover. My dad wouldn’t let me get one when I was a kid and now they just seem like too much work. You have to let them outside when they have to pee, you have to feed and water them, you have to groom them, take them to the vet. They might even mess your house up!” Debra listed.

“But they give you love in return,” Avery insisted, “Kisses and cuddles.”

“And get their slobbery saliva and fur on me? No thank you.”

Avery laughed and shook her head, seeing that this wasn’t going anywhere. They stayed in the park for another hour before Debra drove her home. Debra had a meeting she had to attend and Lily was coming over that afternoon.

  
  


* * *

Debra had just finished getting ready and was about to grab her purse and go to the meeting when her phone buzzed. It was from Hilary.

_ Check this out immediately. _

A link was attached in another text. Debra glanced at the top of the screen realizing she had a little bit of extra time before she was supposed to be at the meeting. She clicked on the link and when the page loaded, anger filled her.

_ Does Avery Mercer have a girlfriend?  _

A picture of the two of them at the diner laughing was inserted below.

_ The up and coming rock artist, Avery Mercer, has been spotted outside the diner, getting a little too close the woman beside her. Sources have looked into the subject and have found that the woman next to her is Debra Hammer, a music agent in Los Angeles. Is this her agent or is she getting cuddly with another agent? We just hope that they aren’t breaking any rules when it comes to the music business. More to come on the subject as we learn more. _

Debra’s phone buzzed a couple more times and Debra clicked on the notification from Hilary. She had sent two more articles from different websites with the same topic. Debra closed the apps immediately and pressed a few buttons before putting the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” Avery’s voice sounded through the speaker at the bottom of the phone.

Debra didn’t even bother greeting her back. “Someone took a picture of us at the diner.”

“...What?” Avery sounded confused.

“Someone took a fucking picture of us at the fucking diner and now they’ve figured out that we’re fucking together,” Debra growled into the phone.

“Okay? Maybe this isn’t bad. Maybe we should just see where it goes,” Avery said softly.

Debra laughed, “No. As usual, you don’t get it. We can’t be together.”

“So we’ll just deny it,” Avery said. “I don’t see the problem.”

Debra was getting more angry by the second. She had told Avery the exact reasons why they couldn’t be public with their relationship at the start. Avery agreed saying that she understood. So why was she acting like this wasn’t a big deal?

“No, we can’t be together anymore. We can’t work together anymore because it will just ruin both of us.We were stupid to do this in the first place.”

“Debra, what are you saying?” Avery asked, fearing the answer.

Debra didn’t miss a beat when she answered, “I’m saying I should have never talked to you at that bar and I definitely shouldn’t have agreed to become your manager.”

Ouch. That hurt. Avery was expecting it to be bad, but she wasn’t expecting this. She thought it was a very cruel thing for Debra to say. Besides, what happened now? Avery didn’t know if Debra could just drop her on the spot.

“Your contract ends in two months because the tour was cancelled. We’ll work it out until then, but I’m dropping you after. You can find someone else to be your manager and girlfriend.” Debra hung up the phone before Avery could respond. And then she turned the power off so Avery couldn’t call her back.


	15. Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Avery's life after the breakup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: eating disorders

It had been two weeks since Avery had heard from Debra. She still went to work but it was miserable. She was trying to find other agents to work with her, but it wasn’t going well. While she was at work, messages from Debra were transferred from other people and they weren’t the nicest. When she wasn’t at work, she stayed in bed and watched TV. Lily was very worried about her best friend.

Avery also couldn’t remember the last time when she ate. Was it one day ago or two? Her stomach was begging for food but she ignored it, watching another episode of Friends. Lily had tried to get her to eat, but she couldn’t force food into her. It was ultimately up to Avery if she wanted to change her habits. Her appearance looked different too. Her cheeks were hollow and her eyes held no emotion. She was pale and shaky.

Avery felt a poke on her cheek and she opened her eyes. Lily was standing beside her bed with a worried expression. The expression never seemed to leave her face these days. She glanced at the clock quickly, seeing that it was already evening. Her stomach growled and she felt weak.

“You need to eat now,” Lily said, plopping herself on the bed. She put a takeout box of Chinese on Avery’s lap and placed a fork by it.

“I already ate,” Avery said, shaking her head. But Lily was having none of that. She knew her best friend well.

“No, you haven’t,” Lily argued. “It scared the fucking crap outta me when you passed out that day. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know if you were going to live. You were so small then and I couldn’t do anything to help.”

Avery realized that after the incident happened, they never really talked about it. They just went on with their lives as nothing had happened.

“I was fine then and I’m fine now,” Avery argued.

“Eat before I call your parents,” She threatened, done with the conversation. Avery opened the box, but the smell that was in the box made her feel sick to her stomach. Lily was very patient and told her that there was no rush to finish the food as long as she did. Lily herself was no stranger to eating disorders either as she struggled with anorexia while she was in middle school and high school. She had finally gotten help a couple of years after she graduated when her mom had found a pattern of her throwing away her meals. Apparently, ninety-five pounds wasn’t the healthiest. It was around the same time that Avery began struggling with bulimia.

Avery took slow bites of her chicken. She finished the box within the hour and Lily stayed to make sure she didn’t forcefully bring the food back up after. It would have been pointless if she had just let Avery go to the bathroom after.

“Wanna watch a movie? You’ve been watching Friends for the last week and a half. Don’t you think it’s time to switch it up?” Lily asked, grabbing the remote.

Avery reluctantly agreed and they ended up watching Cheaper By The Dozen which was one of Avery’s favorite movies as a kid. She never owned the movie until she figured out how Amazon worked but her neighbors who she was friends with were nice enough to allow her to borrow it once in a while after she watched it at their house. The movie finished and Lily popped in the sequel.

It was a great movie for laughs which was definitely what Avery needed at the moment. When she was with Lily, she always forgot about whatever issues were at hand. But for some reason, she couldn’t shake off Debra’s harsh words to her.

_ I’m saying I should have never talked to you at that bar and I definitely shouldn’t have agreed to become your manager. _

She had tried really hard to push the words out of her head and focus on the movie, but the sentence overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes. Avery wondered if Debra saw her as a threat. She was getting more famous as the days went on and her music was only getting better. With Avery’s music, she could pretty easily overpower Debra. And Debra never backed down until she was crowned with money.


	16. A Hard Day's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Debra meets with Hailey to discuss sales.

_ Add to cart. _

One of Debra’s favorite buttons. While she shopped at stores often, she preferred to do it in the comfort of her own home. That way she didn’t have to worry about things like people looking at her when she added yet another item to her collection. She also had all the time in the world this way. The only downside was that she ran the risk of the item not being exactly what she wanted it to be. She was just about to enter her credit card information for her new purchases when her phone rang.

“Hello,” Debra answered, focusing on typing the correct numbers in.

Hailey’s voice came through the phone, “I thought you were meeting me at the studio to discuss the sales? You did say that, right? Or did I just think that when I was high?”

“Son of a bitch,” She mumbled, “No, you’re right.”

Hailey let out a sigh, “Thank God, I would have gotten in trouble if I was wrong.”

“Sober up, Hailey. Be there soon.” Debra didn’t wait for a response and hung up the phone. She gathered her purse, coat, and keys before rushing out the door. She threw her purse in the passenger seat, throwing the car into reverse, backing out of her parking spot without looking. A car happened to be driving by at the same time and she nearly slammed into it. The car honked loudly and she slammed on the brakes.

“Motherfucker!” She screamed. “Watch where you’re going!” She knew she was in the wrong, but she was angry at herself and took it out on the other driver.

Luckily, the rest of the car ride was safe and she didn’t get into anymore near accidents. She pulled into the studio parking lot and rushed inside. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Avery and Hailey talking. Avery’s back was to Debra and Hailey was facing Debra. Debra was about to leave and come back in a few minutes, but unfortunately for her, Hailey called her name.

“Debra!” Hailey said and Avery looked behind her.

Debra didn’t even let Avery say anything. She did not want to deal with Avery today. Correction, she did not want to deal with Avery anymore at all. She did the only thing that came to her mind, go into her manager mode.

“Go home, Avery.” She told her, looking her straight in the eyes.

“I still have stuff to do here. And besides, you’re not my agent anymore.”

Debra shook her head, “I am until the contract is over. Do as I say and go home.”

Avery didn’t move.

“Now, Avery.”

Avery frowned but picked her stuff, and said goodbye to Hailey.

“Fuck you, Debra. Honestly. When will you learn that life isn’t about you?” She walked past Debra, not expecting her to answer. She hadn’t been giving Avery the light of day so why would that change now? She was surprised when Debra calmly answered her.

“What did you just say to me?” Debra’s voice was so calm, it sent chills through Avery.

But Avery wasn’t going to back down. “I said fuck you, Debra.”

Maybe it was a little childish, but Avery had been so sick of being treated like dirt by Debra these past few weeks.

Debra wasn’t thinking when she grabbed Avery’s wrist and dragged her outside. She heard Avery’s cries of protests but she ignored them. She pushed Avery out the door and pulled the door shut. Avery would need a key to get back in and Debra knew she didn’t have one. Hailey laughed from behind her.

“What’d your girlfriend do?” Hailey snickered.

Debra ignored her and walked into the tiny office in the studio. She pulled her laptop out of her bag, logging in and clicking around for a minute. Hailey picked at her cuticles until Debra spoke up.

“The sales are okay but they’re not high enough to my liking. They went down,” Debra explained, typing something. “You’re going to need to do more.”

“I just did two magazine interviews and went on the radio for one,” Hailey said.

Debra shook her head, “That’s not good enough. You’re number 150 on iTunes. You can do better.” 

“But-”

“Do you or do you not want me to be your agent?” Debra interrupted her. She was in no mood for someone to talk back to her. She would put them in their place.

“Yes.”

“Then don’t talk like that to me again. You can forget about everything if you even think about doing that once more.” It was very harsh and Hailey didn’t even get sassy with her. But Debra wasn’t about to take any more chances of herself getting hurt again.

“Yes ma’am,” Hailey said quietly.

“I’ll get you an interview somewhere. Be on the lookout for a text from me.” They said goodbye and they both left. Debra went home and drank wine and shopped until she passed out. It wasn’t the best of days. Sometimes she really wished she wasn’t a music agent. She could be making money her own way and making her own schedules. She had to be back at the studio the next day. It felt like she lived there. All she wanted was a vacation. Was that too much to ask for? Debra just wanted a break from everyone. The amateurs she worked with never seemed to give her a break.


	17. For No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily asks Debra a favor.

Debra had just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang. She wondered who it was as she was not expecting anyone. The few cleaners she had hired only came on Mondays and Thursdays and today was Friday. Could it have been her dad? Debra thought it couldn’t possibly be her father as they stopped their monthly calls after she told him about Avery. She was at a loss of who it could be. She set down her steaming hot coffee and went to answer the door when the doorbell rang again.

She didn’t have a peep hole to look through the door so her only option was to open the door. She laughed out loud when she saw Lily on the other side.

“Oh, no. We’re not doing this today,” She chuckled. She went to shut the door but Lily stuck her foot in the doorway to stop her. She let out a wince when she felt the door squish her foot. But she wasn’t going to back down.

“I don’t want you here, Lily,” Debra bluntly said when the door wouldn’t shut.

“That’s okay, but I’m not leaving,” Lily firmly said and Debra had to give her a few points for not backing down. Debra groaned realizing that she wasn’t going to leave. She opened the door wider so Lily could come in.

“Do your parents know you’re here? It’s not safe for twelve year olds to be wandering the streets by themselves.” Debra shut the door after Lily walked in.

“Haha, very funny. I’m twenty-five. And I don’t know where my mom is,” Lily said sarcastically.

“How’d you even get my address? I sure as hell don’t just give out where I live,” Debra grabbed her coffee and led Lily to the living room. “Sit.”

Lily sat awkwardly. The whole thing went differently in her head. She knew Debra wasn’t the warmest of people, but now that she was in front of her, she didn’t know what to say.

“I, uh, snooped through Avery’s phone,” Lily admitted.

“Impressive. So why are you here, Lily? I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that you’re not here to dye my hair purple and make us look alike.”

“Um, no. That’s okay,” Lily awkwardly said. “I came to ask you to do something.”

Debra thought it was interesting how Lily thought she could just waltz into her home and ask her to do a favor. They had only met once and didn’t talk much at all. Debra already knew though that if this favor had anything to do with Avery, she would decline. People didn’t seem to understand that Debra was really, completely, absolutely done with Avery. She couldn’t care less about her. She had already dropped her from her life. Once the contract ended, it would be official. They would never have to see each other again.

“You need to talk to Avery,” Lily started, “I don’t care if you guys get back together or not. I’m not even asking you guys to be friends. But Debra, you have to understand that she’s not okay. She’s not eating at all. I’m really scared.”

Debra shook her head, “That’s not my problem.”

“It’s not,” Lily agrees. “But if you can help someone why wouldn’t you?”

“What part of ‘we’re done’ do you not understand?” Debra questions, taking a sip of her coffee.

Lily sighed, “I do understand. It's just that when I was in high school, I would have loved if someone came up to me and told me to eat. Everyone was too innocent in middle school to even realize what was going on. It took my mom eight years to notice because she was never home. She’s always working.”

As much as Debra didn’t care about anyone’s life but her own, something about Lily intrigued her. She wanted to know more.

“What about your dad?” Debra couldn’t help but ask.

“He left when I was two,” Lily answered.

“So what? You raised yourself? Did a pack of wolves raise you?” Debra asked. It was nosy to say the least.

“No, a pack of tigers,” Lily shot back sarcastically.

Debra looked at her, amused. “So that’s where Avery gets her sass from.”

Debra sighed and sat her now empty coffee mug down. Lily watched her closely as if she was trying to figure her out.

“I’ll talk to her,” Debra announces finally and Lily looked surprised, She was thinking that this visit would be pointless.

Debra put on her manager face so Lily knew she was serious, “However, this is the last and final time. Both of you need to respect that after this last and final conversation, I’m out.”

Lily nodded frantically, excited that she got through to Debra. “Of course, just one talk.”

“One talk,” Debra confirmed.

Lily grimaced as she stood up from the couch, “One last thing?”

Debra gave her a look but allowed her to continue to talk.

“Do you have any ice for my foot? You’re a strong woman.” Lily took her shoe off to inspect the damage. Debra nearly threw a fit when Lily took her shoes off without any warning, especially since it wasn’t her house. Still, she walked to the kitchen to grab some ice for Lily, thinking about how she was going to talk to Avery.


	18. I Need You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avery ends up in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Eating disorders

Debra was very stressed out. She had two meetings today. One was with the head of marketing and the other was with a client she might potentially pick up. She had yet to talk to Avery as well. She knew she needed to soon and was hoping that she would have time at the end of the day to make a quick stop by. Her plan was simple. Make sure she was okay, tell her to find someone else to love and then leave. Simple and easy.

“So as you can see, if we sell these items on tour instead of by itself we can make more money because-” Debra’s phone began ringing loudly and everyone in the room looked over at her. She was a little embarrassed but dismissed the call when the head of marketing gave her a look.

“Don’t look at me guys, this isn’t my meeting,” She said in a tone that made  _ them  _ embarrassed.

“As I was saying if we sell these on tour-” The meeting was interrupted again when Debra’s phone blasted again.

“Okay, why don’t you just go and take that?” The head of Marketing tells her and she gets up from the table and grabs her phone. She looks at the caller ID and realizes that it’s not a number saved on her phone.

“Debra Hammer,” She greets. It's a little snippy because she was interrupted from something important but she had a feeling this person wouldn't stop calling until she answered.

“Debra!” Lily’s voice answered. 

Debra was getting pissed off. She already told Lily that she would be stopping by soon to talk to Avery. What more did she want?

“Lily, I don’t have time for this nonsense-” 

“Shut your mouth, Debra. Avery’s back in the hospital for not eating. Come or don’t.”

The phone made a little beep noise which told Debra that Lily had hung up already. She was so mad. Avery was an adult and should be able to take care of herself. Now she had to deal with this crap on top of work. She knew the anger was probably disguising the fear, but right now, she just really wanted to be angry. 

Debra herself knew a lot about mental illness. Her mom suffered from depression and anxiety. Debra suffered from depression and anxiety after her mom died. Deep down she knew it wasn’t Avery’s fault. But she was angry and wanted to blame someone.

She might as well go to the hospital. The conversation wasn’t leaving her head anytime soon. She should just deal with the issue head-on. She didn’t even bother to tell the head of marketing or anyone else that she was leaving. She just left. Debra got into her car and drove towards the hospital. She realized she had no idea where to go once she got to the hospital so she quickly texted the number that Lily used to call her. She was supposed to go in the north entrance and Lily would meet her there.

Debra got out of her car and walked towards the doors. It was easy to spot Lily because she was sitting outside the double doors, eating a bag of chips. She was wearing a crop top and leggings with a snapback hat on. Debra would never admit this, but Lily was cool.

“Are we gonna go in?” Debra asked, not even saying hello.

Lily jumped up. “Right to the point, love it.”

“Yeah well, I was interrupted from a meeting.”

Lily led her through the sliding doors and down a couple of hallways. Debra began to get nervous as they got closer. The car accident was different because she had just seen Avery the day before. Now she hadn’t seen Avery in days and even when she saw Avery at the studio, it was only for a minute or so. Debra was set in her own ways and she didn’t even bother to look at Avery’s appearance when they bumped into each other. How would Avery look now? Debra almost didn’t want to see.

Lily stopped outside room A-133 and took a deep breath before opening the door up. 

“Avery, someone’s here to see you,” Lily announces and Debra walks in behind Lily.

“Debra?” Avery asks, surprised to see her. Debra immediately notices how tiny and pale she looks.

“Hey-” Debra goes to say but a doctor walked in at that second.

“Hey ladies, if I could have a moment with Avery alone, that would be great,” He says but not in an unkind way.

Lily nods reluctantly and Debra leaves without a second thought. There’s a waiting room just around the corner from Avery’s room. Avery promises to text Lily once the doctor leaves. Debra finds a spot in the back of the waiting room and Lily sits next to her. It only takes a few minutes for Lily to begin shaking her leg. It makes an annoying sound and Debra doesn’t think she can handle it for much longer.

“Will you stop that?” She snaps after a couple of minutes.

Lily looks at her, “I fucked up.”

“You didn’t fuck up, just stop doing it.”

Lily shakes her head, “No, I mean I should have known something was wrong. She did all the same things I did when I was anorexic. But I didn’t see it. And now she’s in the hospital. I’m supposed to be taking care of her while her parents are in Germany and I failed. Not only has she been bulimic but now also anorexic? I’m so stupid.”

Debra groans because now she has to comfort the younger girl. She really just wanted to make sure Avery was okay and leave.

“It’s not your fault, Lily,” She mutters and closes her eyes, feeling a headache coming on, “It’s an illness. Even I could have done more when she was in the hospital last time. We just deal with what happened but know its not our fault. You care so much about her, it’s obvious just by watching when you guys interact. But you can’t blame yourself.”

“Thanks, Debra. You’re not so bad yourself.” Lily eyes her. Before Debra could respond, a phone vibrates. Lily pulls her phone out of her pocket.

“Avery said we can come back in now,” She informs Debra and jumps up.

They go back to Avery’s room and find her staring at a sandwich the doctor must have brought in for her. Lily sits in the chair next to Avery’s bed and Debra stands.

“I am not eating that.” Avery glares at the sandwich more.

“You are,” Lily argues.

“I’m not,” Avery says back.

“Eat the goddamn sandwich, Avery.” Debra snaps, “Your poor friend and I are here worried sick and you’re not helping by making a stupid argument. Now eat the sandwich before I shove it down your throat!”

Avery and Lily stare at her in shock for a minute.

“Damn, dude,” Lily says first. Debra looks down for a second before continuing to look at them. Lily then turns her attention back to Avery.

“You need to eat. The first time was scary enough. And I know you don’t want them to put a feeding tube in you.” Lily looks like she’s about to burst into tears. “Please eat, Avery. I don’t know what more I can do to help you. I can’t lose you.”

Avery looks at her for a minute before slowly picking up the sandwich and putting a little piece in her mouth. It makes her feel like she’s going to vomit right then and there but she forces herself to keep it down. Lily’s right, she doesn’t want a feeding tube.

“Good girl,” Lily nods in approval, “I’m gonna go get my own snack from the cafeteria. Debra, make sure she finishes that and call a doctor if she vomits.” She leaves without a second thought.

The first few minutes of them sitting together is awkward. Especially now that Lily disappeared. Should Debra say something first? Or should she wait for Avery to say something? Maybe she should just say something and get it out of the way.

“Listen, Avery, you-”

“Debra, I-”

Debra frowned. They both started talking at the same time. Avery motioned for Debra to continue. 

“Avery, I don’t know what to say,” Debra started, “Besides my mom, no one’s really cared about me. I’m honored you like, or liked, me as much as you did. But you can’t stop eating just because of me. You have to move on, kid. You’re worth so much to this world and you shouldn’t waste it. But whatever you do, please don’t hold yourself back because of me.”

“I don’t want anyone else though,” Avery gently argues.

Debra shakes her head softly, “What we did was wrong. We should have left it strictly professional.”

Debra also notices that Avery stopped eating right after Lily left. 

“Debra, why do think I spend so much time at the studio? You make people work hard but not to the point where someone’s working twelve hours a day. Why do you think that I don’t care that you’re a little greedy about money all the time? Or that you have different bank accounts for everything you do? It’s because I love you, idiot. You don’t realize how special you are. You’re way more than just someone who can get someone to where they wanna be with their music. You’re so great in so many different ways. I would spend the rest of my life making sure you knew that if you wanted me to.”

Debra looks down.

“You’re way more than what you show. You’re kind and thoughtful. You’re funny and smart. You’re talented and amazingly beautiful. I don’t care if you never want to see me again. But please know that I love you, Debra.”

It was the last sentence that made Debra’s whole world feel like it was going to melt. Never in her life had she felt so cared for, so loved, so  _ special _ . She wanted it to last forever. On the same token, she didn’t want to get hurt again. It wasn’t Avery’s fault that they had been spotted. She was just afraid of her whole career going down the toilet.

Debra was at a loss of what to do. Her mom’s voice ran through her head.

_ A life without love is a life you don’t want to live. _

“If you want, you can go now.” Avery looked at her, expecting Debra to march out the door without another word. She was pleasantly surprised when Debra leaned over and kissed her in the hospital bed. Avery kissed back, completely shocked that it was happening again.

“Don’t make me regret this,” Debra said in between kisses.

“Yeah, okay,” Avery waved her off and kissed her again.

The door swung open but neither of them noticed Lily walking in the room again. They were too busy kissing.

Lily smirked, “Mission accomplished, Lily. Good job,” she told herself and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.


	19. Here, There, and Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 10 Months later

“Come on, just choose one!” Debra groaned.

“Okay first of all, you could act a bit more excited. Second of all, choosing a puppy takes time,” Avery sassed back and shoved a little pug into Debra’s arms. Debra was surprised and nearly dropped the poor pug. His name was Cinnamon Roll. Debra thought it was stupid to name animals after food, but she pet the dog anyway. Poor Cinnamon Roll looked very anxious.

“I can’t believe  _ the _ Debra Hammer agreed to let us get a doggy!” Avery squealed.

It was true. Debra reluctantly agreed to get a dog with Avery. After six months of dating, Debra invited Avery to start living with her. Avery agreed happily. She wanted to be closer to Debra since they were both in the studio most days and Lily was looking at houses of her own. Lily moved into Avery’s house and Avery moved in with Debra. It all worked out perfectly.

“I can still take that back,” Debra threatened and Avery gaped at her.

“You wouldn’t!” She gasped loudly, scaring one of the puppies in one of the kennels, making him whimper.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Avery cooed and picked up the scared black lab. The name tag on the outside read “Midnight”. Avery gave Midnight a bunch of love and kisses in apology.

There was one dog in particular though that Avery had her eyes on. There were so many dogs in the room and Avery wanted to make sure she gave all the pups equal amount of attention. She set Midnight down with another little sweet kiss and went over to the puppy.

It was a white puppy who wasn’t fully grown. Avery thought the Samoyed was the fluffiest dog ever. The puppy was in the corner barking along with the other dogs wanting attention. Avery understood why though. It was hard for the people running the shelter to give all the dogs attention all the time. The puppy tried jumping on her but they were so small that it only got to reach under her knees. Avery was strong enough to pick the puppy up and she cuddled them to her chest.

Debra read the tag on his kennel, “Snowflake. It’s a he,” She informed.

“I want this one,” Avery decided.

“Are you sure? You just said that picking a puppy takes time,” Debra reminded her.

“It does but I want this one,” Avery insisted.

They told one of the employees at the shelter they wanted Snowflake and they went through the adoption process before Debra paid for him. Avery frowed that they had to pay for Snowflake when it was supposed to be an adoption but she was just glad Snowflake could have a good home now.

“Why don’t we get some lunch and then stop at the pet shop on the way home?” Debra asked.

Avery nodded, “That sounds great. I haven’t eaten all day.”

Debra gives her a look.

“I just forgot to eat because we were a little busy this morning if you know what I mean,” Avery told her. “I promise it wasn’t on purpose.”

Debra gave her a look and decided that Avery was most likely telling the truth. Avery had began going to therapy to help her start eating regularly again. Debra would admit that Avery had been putting in a lot of work to get better. She was proud of her.

It was rough at first because they had some trust issues. They had gotten in a fight early on because Avery had in fact eaten but Debra didn’t believe her. They made up a few hours later but for the few hours that they were mad, they ignored each other. Avery hated it.

They both decided it would be best to get carry out since they had a dog in the car. They found a cute little cafe and grabbed some sandwiches. It turned out that Snowflake was afraid of moving vehicles so Avery held him in her arms while the car was in motion. She had just gotten him and she loved him so much already. Debra thought he was cute but was mostly just was happy that Avery was happy.

They got the most expensive stuff for Snowflake at the pet shop. This time it wasn’t Debra. Avery insisted on Snowflake getting the best quality of stuff. Avery had her heart set on making the dog as happy and healthy as could be.

They brought Snowflake home and Snowflake immediately wanted the couch. Debra freaked out and Avery got him off. However, she did make a secret promise with Snowflake that he could have her side of the bed when Debra wasn’t home. Snowflake looked relaxed and happy and that’s all that Avery could ask for.

* * *

The evening had been quiet and calm. Nothing happened besides setting up Snowflake’s bed, food bowls, and toy basket. It had been a long day and they still had to bring Snowflake to the vet the next day. Well, Avery would be doing that. Debra had meetings to attend to.

But for now, Avery just wanted to shower and go to sleep. Her eyes were drooping closed and she didn’t know how much longer she could stay awake. She assumed that Debra was working in her office because she usually did that at night so she grabbed some pajamas and went to shower.

Her heart stopped though when she entered the bathroom and saw Debra in the jacuzzi with her eyes closed, relaxing. She was naked but she couldn’t see anything because of the bubbles coming from the jets. And her hair was down and she was free of makeup which was a rarity for Debra.

“Come join me,” Debra said, without opening her eyes.

Avery didn’t need to be told twice. She pulled her clothes off as quickly as possible and Debra had opened her eyes to watch. She thought Avery was gorgeous. She had gained some weight and actually weighed a healthy amount now. Avery climbed in the jacuzzi and Debra scooted closer to Avery, gently grabbing her waist and pulling her onto her lap.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” Debra moaned. “I’m so proud of you for everything. Therapy, the tour, everything.”

Avery was finally going on tour after so long. Her leg had healed nicely and her doctor cleared her. Debra had become her manager again after a very long talk about the pros and cons. When they were working, they were strictly in a professional relationship, everything else was saved for later. It was working well so far and they both hoped it would continue to. Avery was so excited for the tour next year and wanted everything to go perfect.

Avery hid her face on Debra’s wet shoulder.

“You know I think that, right? I think you’re the most beautiful woman on the planet,” Debra muttered into Avery’s cheek.

And Avery did know that. For once, she felt beautiful in her own body and it was because of Debra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i fucking love these characters...so there will be a sequel

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments so i write faster?


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